Reservoir Characteristics: The Primary Reservoir Characteristics That Must Be Considered Include

Reservoir Petrophysics Lectures (Prepared by Dr. Fadhil S.
Kadhim)
Reservoir Characteristics
Flow in porous media is a complex phenomenon and cannot be described as explicitly as flow
through pipes or conduits. It is easy to measure the length and diameter of a pipe and compute its
flow capacity as a function of pressure; however, flow in porous media is different in that there are
no clear-cut flow paths which lend themselves to measurement.
The analysis of fluid flow in porous media has evolved throughout the years along two fronts:
experimental and analytical. Physicists, engineers and hydrologists have experimentally examined
the behaviour of various fluids as they flow through porous media ranging from sand packs to fused
Pyrex glass. On the basis of their analyses they have attempted to formulate laws and correlations
that can then be utilized to make analytical predictions for similar systems. The primary reservoir
characteristics that must be considered include:
1. Types of fluids in the reservoir;

2. Flow regimes;
3. Reservoir geometry;
4. Number of flowing fluids in the reservoir.
Reservoir Petrophysics Lectures (Prepared by Dr. Fadhil S. Kadhim)
Types of Fluids
The isothermal compressibility coefficient is essentially the controlling factor in identifying the
type of the reservoir fluid. In general, reservoir
fluids are classified into three groups:
(1) Incompressible Fluids;
(2) Slightly Compressible Fluids;
(3) Compressible Fluids.
The isothermal compressibility coefficient c is described mathematically by the following two
equivalent expressions:
1. Incompressible Fluids: An incompressible fluid is a fluid whose volume or density does not
change with pressure. That is:
Incompressible fluids do not exist; however, this behaviour may be assumed in some cases to
simplify the derivation and the final form of many flow equations.
2. Slightly Compressible Fluids: These “slightly” compressible fluids exhibit small changes in
volume, or density, with changes in pressure. Knowing the volume Vref of a slightly compressible
liquid at a reference (initial) pressure pref, the changes in the volumetric behaviour of such fluids as
a function of pressure p can be mathematically described by integrating Eq. (1), to give:
Where:
P=pressure, psia, V=volume at pressure p, ft3 / pref=initial (reference) pressure, psia
Vref=fluid volume at initial (reference) pressure, psia
The exponential (е ͯ) may be represented by a series expansion as:
Because the exponent x (which represents the term c(prfe-2p)) is very small, the (е ͯ) term can be
approximated by truncating Eq. (4) to:
Combining Eq. (5) with (3) gives:
A similar derivation is applied to Eq. (2), to give:
Where: V=volume at pressure p/ Ρ=density at pressure p/ Vref=volume at initial (reference)

pressure pref/ Ρref=density at initial (reference) pressure pref
It should be pointed out that many crude oil and water systems fit into this category.
3. Compressible Fluids: Compressible fluids are defined as fluids that experience large changes in
volume as a function of pressure. All gases and gas-liquid systems are considered compressible fluids.
The truncation of the series expansion as given by Eq. (5) is not valid in this category and the
complete expansion as given by Eq. (4) is used. The isothermal compressibility of any vapor phase
fluid is described by the following expression:
The following Figures show schematic illustrations of the volume and density changes as a
function of pressure for all three types of fluids.
Reservoir Geometry
The shape of a reservoir has a significant effect on its flow behaviour. Most reservoirs have
irregular boundaries and a rigorous mathematical description of their geometry is often possible only
with the use of numerical simulators. However, for many engineering purposes, the actual flow
geometry may be represented by one of the following flow geometries:
• radial flow;
• linear flow;
• spherical flow.
1. Radial Flow.
In the absence of severe reservoir heterogeneities, flow into or away from a wellbore will follow radial
flow lines at a substantial distance from the wellbore. Because fluids move toward the well from all
directions and coverage at the wellbore, the term radial flow is used to characterize the flow of fluid
into the wellbore. The following Figure shows idealized flow lines for a radial flow system.
2. Linear Flow: Linear flow occurs when flow paths are parallel and the fluid flows in a single
direction. In addition, the cross-sectional area to flow must be constant. The following Figure
shows an idealized linear flow system.
A common application of linear flow equations

is the fluid flow into vertical hydraulic
fractures as illustrated in the side Figure:
3. Spherical Flow: Depending upon the type of wellbore completion configuration, it is possible to
have spherical flow near the wellbore. A well with a limited perforated interval could result in
spherical flow in the vicinity of the perforations as illustrated in the following Figure.
Fluid Flow Equations
The fluid flow equations are used to describe flow behaviour in a reservoir take many forms
depending upon the combination of variables presented previously (i.e., types of flow, types of fluids,
etc.). By combining the conservation of mass equation with the transport equation (Darcy’s equation)
and various equations of state, the necessary flow equations can be developed. Since all flow
equations to be considered depend on Darcy’s law, it is important to consider this transport
relationship first.
The mathematical expressions that are used to predict the volumetric performance and pressure
behaviour of a reservoir vary in form and complexity depending upon the number of mobile fluids in
the reservoir. There are generally three cases of flowing system:
(1) single-phase flow (only oil, only water, or only gas);

(2) two-phase flow (oil&water, oil&gas, or gas& water);
(3) three-phase flow (oil + water + gas).
The description of fluid flow and subsequent analysis of pressure data becomes more difficult
as the number of mobile fluids increases.
1. Darcy’s Law
The fundamental law of fluid motion in porous media is Darcy’s law. The mathematical expression
developed by Darcy in 1856 states that the velocity of a homogeneous fluid in a porous medium is
proportional to the pressure gradient, and inversely proportional to the fluid viscosity. For a
horizontal linear system, this relationship is:
Where: ʋ=apparent velocity, cm/s, q=volumetric flow rate, cm3/s. A= total cross-sectional area of the
rock, cm²
In other words, A includes the area of the rock material

as well as the area of the pore channels.
The fluid viscosity μ is expressed in centipoise units,
and the pressure gradient dp/dx is in atmospheres
per centimetre, taken in the same direction as υ and q.
The proportionality constant k is the permeability of
the rock expressed in Darcy units.
The negative sign in Eq. (10) is added because the
pressure gradient dp/dx is negative in the direction
of flow as shown in the side Figure:
For a horizontal-radial system, the pressure gradient is positive as shown in the following Figure and
Darcy’s equation can be expressed in the following generalized radial form:
Where: qr= volumetric flow rate at radius r, Ar=cross-sectional area to flow at radius r
(əp/ər)r= pressure gradient at radius r, ʋ=apparent velocity at radius r.
The cross-sectional area at radius r is essentially the surface area of a cylinder. For a fully penetrated
well with a net thickness of h, the cross-sectional area Ar is given by:
Ar = 2πrh
Darcy’s law applies only when the following conditions exist:
• laminar (viscous) flow;

• steady-state flow;
• incompressible fluids;
• homogeneous formation.
For turbulent flow, which occurs at higher velocities, the pressure gradient increases at a greater rate
than does the flow rate and a special modification of Darcy’s equation is needed. When turbulent
flow exists, the application of Darcy’s equation can result in serious errors. Modifications for
turbulent flow will be discussed late.
Steady-state Flow
As defined previously, steady-state flow represents the condition that exists when the pressure
throughout the reservoir does not change with time. The applications of steady-state flow to
describe the flow behaviour of several types of fluid in different reservoir geometries are
presented below. These include:
1. linear flow of incompressible fluids
2. linear flow of slightly compressible fluids
3. linear flow of compressible fluids
4. radial flow of incompressible fluids
5. radial flow of slightly compressible fluids
6. radial flow of compressible fluids
1. Linear Flow of Incompressible Fluids: In a linear system, it is assumed that the flow
occurs through a constant cross-sectional area A, where both ends are entirely open to flow. It is
also assumed that no flow crosses the sides, top, or bottom as shown in following Figure.
If an incompressible fluid is flowing across the element dx, then the fluid velocity υ and the flow
rate q are constant at all points. The flow behaviour in this system can be expressed by the
differential form of Darcy’s equation. Separating the variables of this equation and integrating
over the length of the linear system:
It is often desirable to express the above relationship in customary field units, or:
Where: q=flow rate, bbl/day, K=absolute permeability, md, P=pressure, psia

µ=viscosity, cp, L=distance, ft, A=cross-sectional area, ft²
Tutorial
Example 1
An incompressible fluid flows in a linear porous media with the following properties:
L= 2000 ft, h=20 ft, width=300 ft, K=100 md,

φ= 0.15%, μ = 2 cp P1= 2000 psi, P2= 1990 psi
Calculate:
(a) flow rate in bbl/day;
(b) apparent fluid velocity in ft/day;
(c) actual fluid velocity in ft/day.
The difference in the pressure (p1-p2) in Eq. (11) is not the only driving force in a tilted reservoir. The
gravitational force is the other important driving force that must be accounted for to determine the
direction and rate of flow. The fluid gradient force (gravitational force) is always directed vertically
downward while the force that results from an applied pressure drop may be in any direction. The
force causing flow would then be the vector sum of these two. In practice, we obtain this result by
introducing a new parameter, called “fluid potential” (given by symbol Φ), which has the same
dimensions as pressure, e.g., psi. The fluid potential at any point in the reservoir is defined as the
pressure at that point less the pressure that would be exerted by a fluid head extending to an
arbitrarily assigned datum level. Let Δzi be the vertical distance from a point i in the reservoir to this
datum level:
Where: ρ is the density in lb/ cub.ft
Expressing the fluid density in g/cc in Eq. (12 ) gives:
Where: Φi= fluid potential at point i, psi, Pi=pressure at point i, psi, Δzi=vertical distance from point i
to the selected datum level, ρ=fluid density under reservoir conditions,
lb/ cub. ft, γ= fluid density under reservoir conditions, g/cc; this is not the fluid specific gravity
The datum is usually selected at the gas-oil contact, oil-water contact, or the highest point in
formation. In using Eq. (12) or (13) to calculate the fluid potential Φi at location i, the
vertical distance zi is assigned as a positive value when the point i is below the datum level and
as a negative value when it is above the datum level. That is: If point i is above the datum level:
and equivalently:
If point i is below the datum level:
and equivalently:
Applying the above-generalized concept to Darcy’s equation (Eq. (11)) gives:
It should be pointed out that the fluid potential drop (Φ1 -Φ2) is equal to the pressure drop
(p1- p2) only when the flow system is horizontal.
Example 2
Assume that the porous media with the properties as given in the previous example are
tilted with a dip angle of 5, as shown in the following Figure. The incompressible fluid has a density of
42 lb/ft3. Resolve Example (1) using this additional information.
Solution
Step 1. For the purpose of illustrating the concept of

fluid potential, select the datum level at half the
vertical distance between the two points,
at (174.3/2) i.e. 87.15 ft, as shown in the side Figure
Step 2. Calculate the fluid potential at points 1and 2.

Since point 1 is below the datum level, then:
Since point 2 is above the datum level, then:

Because Φ2 . Φ1, the fluid flows downward from point 2 to 1. The difference in the fluid potential is:
ΔΦ=2015.42 -1974.58 = 40.84 psi
Notice that, if we select point 2 for the datum level, then:
The above calculations indicate that regardless of the position of the datum level, the flow is downward
from point 2 to 1 with:
ΔΦ=1990 – 1949.16=40.84 psi
Step 3. Calculate the flow rate:
Step 4. Calculate the velocity:

2. Linear Flow of Slightly Compressible Fluids. The following equation describes the relationship
that exists between pressure and volume for a slightly compressible fluid, or:
This equation can be modified and written in terms of flow rate as:
where qref is the flow rate at some reference pressure pref. Substituting the above relationship
in Darcy’s equation gives:
Separating the variables and arranging:
Integrating gives:
Example 3
Consider the linear system given in Example (1) and, assuming a slightly compressible liquid, calculate the
flow rate at both ends of the linear system. The liquid has an average compressibility of (21*10^-5) psi^-1.
L= 2000 ft, h=20 ft, width=300 ft, K=100 md, φ= 0.15%, μ = 2 cp P1= 2000 psi, P2= 1990 psi
Solution
Choosing the upstream pressure as the reference pressure gives:
Choosing the downstream pressure gives:
The above calculations show that q1 and q2 are not largely different, which is due to the fact that the liquid
is slightly incompressible and its volume is not a strong function of pressure.
3. Linear Flow of Compressible Fluids (Gases). For a viscous (laminar) gas flow in a
homogeneous linear system, the real-gas equation of state can be applied to calculate the number of gas
moles n at the pressure p, temperature T, and volume V:
Dividing both sides of the above equation by the cross-sectional area A and equating it with that of
Darcy’s law, gives:
The constant 0.001127 is to convert Darcy’s units to field units. Separating variables and arranging
yields:
Assuming that the product of Zμg is constant over the specified pressure range between p1 and p2, and
integrating, gives:
It is essential to note that the gas properties Z and μg are very strong functions of pressure, but they have
been removed from the integral to simplify the final form of the gas flow equation. The above equation is
valid for applications when the pressure is less than 2000 psi. The gas properties must be evaluated at the
average pressure as defined below:
Example 4
A natural gas with a specific gravity of 0.72 is flowing in linear porous media at 140 Fᴼ. The upstream and
downstream pressures are 2100 and 1894.73 psi, respectively. The cross-sectional area is constant at 4500
ft². The total length is 2500 ft with an absolute permeability of 60 md. Calculate the gas flow rate in scf/day
(psc=14.7 psia, Tsc=520 R, µg=0.0173, Z=0.78 ).
Solution
Step 1. Calculate average pressure by using Eq. (21):

Step 2. Using the specific gravity of the gas, calculate its pseudo-critical properties by applying the
following equations:
Step 3. Calculate the pseudo-reduced pressure and temperature:
Step 4. Calculate the gas flow rate by applying Eq. (20):

4. Radial Flow of Incompressible Fluids. In a radial flow system, all fluids move toward the
producing well from all directions. However, before flow can take place, a pressure differential
must exist. Thus, if a well is to produce oil, which implies a flow of fluids through the formation
to the wellbore, the pressure in the formation at the wellbore must be less than the pressure in
the formation at some distance from the well. The pressure in the formation at the wellbore of a
producing well is known as the bottom-hole flowing pressure (flowing BHP, pwf).
The following Figure illustrates the radial flow of an incompressible fluid toward a vertical
well. The formation is considered to have a uniform thickness h and a constant permeability k.
Because the fluid is incompressible, the flow rate q must be constant at all radii. Due to the
steady-state flowing condition, the pressure profile around the wellbore is maintained constant
with time. Let pwf represent the maintained bottom-hole flowing pressure at the wellbore radius
rw and pe denote the external pressure at the external or drainage radius.
Then Darcy’s generalized equation can be used to determine the flow rate at any radius r:
At any point in the reservoir the cross-sectional area across which flow occurs will be the surface
area of a cylinder, which is 2πrh, or:
The flow rate for a crude oil system is customarily expressed in surface units, i.e., stock tank
barrel (STB), rather than reservoir units. Using the symbol Qo to represent the oil flow as
expressed in STB/day, then:
q = BoQo
where Bo is the oil formation volume factor in bbl/STB. The flow rate in Darcy’s equation can be
expressed in STB/day, to give:
Integrating this equation between two radii, r1 and r2, when the pressures are p1 and p2, yields:
For an incompressible system in a uniform formation, Eq. (23) can be simplified to:
Frequently, the two radii of interest are the wellbore radius rw and the external or drainage
radius re. Then:
The external (drainage) radius re is usually determined from the well spacing by equating the area
of the well spacing with that of a circle. That is:
In practice, neither the external radius nor the wellbore radius is generally known with precision.
Fortunately, they enter the equation as a logarithm, so the errors in the equation will be less than
the errors in the radii. Eq. (24) can be arranged to solve for the pressure p at any radius r, to give:
Example 5
An oil well in the Nameless Field is producing at a stabilized rate of 600 STB/day at a stabilized
bottom-hole flowing pressure of 1800 psi. Analysis of the pressure build-up test data indicates that
the pay zone is characterized by a permeability of 120 md and a uniform thickness of 25 ft. The
well drains an area of approximately 40 acres. The following additional data is available:
rw=0.25 ft, A=40 acres, Bo=1.25 bbl/STB, μo=2.5 cp
Calculate the pressure profile (distribution) and list the pressure drop across 1 ft intervals
from rw to 1.25 ft, 4 to 5 ft, 19 to 20 ft, 99 to 100 ft, and 744 to 745 ft.
Solution
Step 1. Rearrange Eq. (24) and solve for the pressure p at radius r:
Step 2. Calculate the pressure at the designated radius:
The above Figure shows the pressure profile as a function of radius for the calculated data.
Results of Example 5 reveal that the pressure drop just around the wellbore (i.e., 142 psi) is 7.5
times greater than at the 4-5 ft interval, 36 times greater than at 19-20 ft, and 142 times than that
at the 99-00 ft interval. The reason for this large pressure drop around the wellbore is that the
fluid flows in from a large drainage area of 40 acres.
The external pressure pe used in Eq. (24) cannot be measured readily, but pe does not deviate
substantially from the initial reservoir pressure if a strong and active aquifer is present. Several
authors have suggested that the average reservoir pressure pr, which often is reported in well test
results, should be used in performing material balance calculations and flow rate prediction. Craft
and Hawkins (1959) showed that the average pressure is located at about 61% of the drainage
radius re for a steady- state flow condition. Substituting 0.61re in Eq. (26) gives:
Golan and Whitson (1986) suggested a method for approximating the drainage area of wells
producing from a common reservoir. These authors assume that the volume drained by a single
well is proportional to its rate of flow. Assuming constant reservoir properties and a uniform
thickness, the approximate drainage area of a single well Aw is:
5. Radial Flow of Slightly Compressible Fluids. Terry et al. (1991) used Eq. (17) to express the
dependency of the flow rate on pressure for slightly compressible fluids. If this equation is
substituted into the radial form of Darcy’s law, the following is obtained:
Separating the variables and assuming a constant compressibility over the entire pressure drop, and
integrating over the length of the porous medium:
Example 6
The following data is available on a well in the Red River Field:
Pe=2506 psi, pwf=1800 psi, re=745 ft, rw=0.25 ft, Bo=1.25 bbl/STB, μo=2.5 cp
K=0.12 darcy, h=25 ft, co=2531026 psi^-1
Assuming a slightly compressible fluid, calculate the oil flow rate. Compare the result with that of
an incompressible fluid.
Solution
For a slightly compressible fluid, the oil flow rate can be calculated by applying Eq. (30):
Assuming an incompressible fluid, the flow rate can be estimated by applying Darcy’s equation,
i.e., Eq. (24):
6. Radial Flow of Compressible Gases. The basic differential form of Darcy’s law for a horizontal
laminar flow is valid for describing the flow of both gas and liquid systems. For a radial gas flow,
Darcy’s equation takes the form:
The gas flow rate is traditionally expressed in scf/day. Referring to the gas flow rate at standard
(surface) condition as Qg, the gas flow rate qgr under wellbore flowing condition can be converted
to that of surface condition by applying the definition of the gas formation volume factor Bg to qgr
as:
Combining Eqs. (31) and (32) yields:
Integrating Eq. (33) from the wellbore conditions (rw and pwf) to any point in the reservoir (r and p)
gives:
Imposing Darcy’s law conditions on Eq. (34), i.e., steady-state flow, which requires that Qg is constant
at all radii, and homogeneous formation, which implies that k and h are constant, gives:
Eq. (36) can be written in terms of the real gas Pseudo pressure as:
Eq. (37) indicates that a graph of ψ vs. ln (r/rw) yields a straight line with a slope of [QgT/ 0.703kh]
and an intercept value of ψw as shown in the following Figure. The exact flow rate is then given by:
Because the gas flow rate is commonly expressed in Mscf/day, Eq. (39) can be expressed as:
Eq. (40) can be expressed in terms of the average reservoir pressure pr instead of the initial
reservoir pressure pe as:
Eq. (40) can be rewritten as:

The term (μgZ)avg is evaluated at an average pressure p that is defined by the following
expression:
The above approximation method is called the pressure-squared method and is limited to flow
calculations when the reservoir pressure is less than 2000 psi.
To calculate the integral in Eq. (40), the values of 2p/μgZ are calculated for several values of
pressure p. Then 2p/μgZ vs. p is plotted on a Cartesian scale and the area under the curve is
calculated either numerically or graphically, where the area under the curve from p=0 to any
pressure p represents the value of ψ corresponding to p. The following example will illustrate the
procedure.
Example 7
The PVT data from a gas well in the Anaconda Gas Field is given below:
Solution
Step 1. Calculate the term 2p/μgZ for each pressure as shown below:
Step 2. Plot the term 2p/μgZ

vs. pressure as shown in the
Figure.
Step 3. Calculate numerically the area under the curve for each value of p. These areas correspond to
the real-gas Pseudo pressure ψ at each pressure. These ψ values are tabulated below; note that
[2p/μgZ] vs. p is also plotted in the previous Figure.
Step 4. Calculate the flow rate by applying Eq. (39): At pw=3600 psi: gives ψw =816.0* 10^6 psi²/cp:
At pe=4400 psi: gives ψe =1089*10^6 psi²/cp
Example 8
Using the data given in Example 7, resolve the gas flow rate by using the pressure-squared method.
Compare with the exact method (i.e., real-gas pseudo pressure solution).
Solution
Step 1. Calculate the arithmetic average pressure:
Step 2. Determine the gas viscosity and gas compressibility factor at 4020 psi: μg = 0:0267, Z = 0:862
Step 3. Apply Eq. (42):
Step 4. Results show that the pressure-squared method approximates the exact solution of 37,614
with an absolute error of 1.86%. This error is due to the limited applicability of the pressures-quared
method to a pressure range of less than 2000 psi.

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Reservoir Petrophysics Lectures (Prepared by Dr. Fadhil S.

1. Types of fluids in the reservoir;

The exponential (е ͯ) may be represented by a series expansion as:

Combining Eq. (5) with (3) gives:

A similar derivation is applied to Eq. (2), to give:

Where: V=volume at pressure p/ Ρ=density at pressure p/ Vref=volume at initial (reference)

A common application of linear flow equations

(1) single-phase flow (only oil, only water, or only gas);

In other words, A includes the area of the rock material

Darcy’s law applies only when the following conditions exist:

• laminar (viscous) flow;

Where: q=flow rate, bbl/day, K=absolute permeability, md, P=pressure, psia

L= 2000 ft, h=20 ft, width=300 ft, K=100 md,

Where: ρ is the density in lb/ cub.ft

Expressing the fluid density in g/cc in Eq. (12 ) gives:

If point i is below the datum level:

Applying the above-generalized concept to Darcy’s equation (Eq. (11)) gives:

Step 1. For the purpose of illustrating the concept of

Step 2. Calculate the fluid potential at points 1and 2.

Since point 2 is above the datum level, then:

ΔΦ=2015.42 -1974.58 = 40.84 psi

Notice that, if we select point 2 for the datum level, then:

ΔΦ=1990 – 1949.16=40.84 psi

Step 3. Calculate the flow rate:

Step 4. Calculate the velocity:

Separating the variables and arranging:

Choosing the downstream pressure gives:

Step 1. Calculate average pressure by using Eq. (21):

Step 3. Calculate the pseudo-reduced pressure and temperature:

Step 4. Calculate the gas flow rate by applying Eq. (20):

rw=0.25 ft, A=40 acres, Bo=1.25 bbl/STB, μo=2.5 cp

Step 2. Calculate the pressure at the designated radius:

Combining Eqs. (31) and (32) yields:

Eq. (40) can be rewritten as:

Step 2. Plot the term 2p/μgZ

Step 1. Calculate the arithmetic average pressure:

Step 3. Apply Eq. (42):

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